1) There are failures sometimes. Honda and Toyota used to suffer a lot, but now they have improved. A couple of races ago Martín Basso was taking his Ford to one of the most dominant wins of the season til his Berta engine blew away...2) Of course they race in the rain.3) They run Pirelli tyres, a hard compound. I can't say any more about this.4) There were rumours in the last seasons about races in Mexico and even Costa Rica, but it's still something to dream about. It would be too expensive.

Alain Menu On Podium Again In Argentine Classic RaceThe Chevrolet Elaion racing team finished on the podium, and placed its three cars in the top 7, in the "200 Kilómetros de Buenos Aires. The Buenos Aires race is the main event of the Argentine TC 2000 Touring Car Championship and at the same time the biggest motoring event of the year in South America.

Raced over almost double the distance than the usual format, this is the only event of the TC 2000 where cars are driven by two-driver teams. For the occasion – as before in 2006 – Chevrolet WTCC drivers, Alain Menu and Rob Huff paired with the regular Chevrolet drivers of the Chevrolet Astras in the TC 2000. The third driver supporting Chevrolet Elaion’s effort in Buenos Aires was Chevrolet’s Brazilian stock-car star, Hoover Orsi. Cristian Ledesma and Alain Menu took third, with the Swiss driver gaining two positions in his stint, the final one. Marcelo Bugliotti and Rob Huff came in sixth, just ahead of Ricardo Risatti and Hoover Orsi. For Menu it was the fourth podium finish in as many times he has run this race. The Swiss driver finished third in 2004, second in 2005 and won in 2006.

With this podium finish (the fifth consecutive in the Buenos Aires event for the Chevrolet TC 2000 team) and given the fact that this special race awards almost double points, Cristian Ledesma is closing the gap in the overall standings and increasing his chances in the battle for the title. He now lies in third (with 75 points) in the overall standings led by Guillermo Ortelli (113 points).

• QUOTES Alain Menu: "Cristian gave me the car in an excellent fifth position. In the first laps of my stint, I tried to assess the track conditions and the balance of the car and was then able to keep a good pace, with a car which ran perfectly. I am very happy that I could bring the Chevrolet to the podium and proud to have had again the opportunity to participate in this great motoring event".

Rob Huff: "As I was doing the first stint, I tried not to make mistakes and find a pace that would allow us to climb positions. That’s what happened and thanks also to a very fast driver change, we reached an excellent sixth position. I enjoyed very much this exciting experience, especially after the disillusion in 2006, when I could not even take the wheel in the race, after the early retirement of the car".

Originally posted by Repco von Brabham I apologise.., but I can´t stop do send this pictures for you:

The last sunday 14th September, in the magnificent autodrome in Termas do Rio Hondo, Santiago province:

Ford "save the honour" with this victory of Luis Di Palma III, in the first race, almost 47.000 souls in the circuit!!:

The lovely Lucas Benamo.., his gearbox explode again..!!!

Ha ha, those Río de la Plata Hondas keep on breaking down: Cáceres' engine blew out and your son's gearbox 'exploded'. They have the speed, not the reliability (more or less like DTA's Chevrolets. Curious that privateers who find enough pace to fight the factory cars are so unreliable... I miss Sportteam...)

Buenos Aires, February 23rd, 2009.- The forthcoming one will not turn out to be just any other season for TC2000. This will be the 30th year since the division's inception. On track, like few other divisions around the world, there will be eight different marques competing for honours. Apart from Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Renault and Volkswagen, who have been competing in the division in recent years, Fiat and Peugeot will add their names to the manufacturers' ranks. There will be ten different car models taking part: New Civic and Civic, Focus, Vectra and Astra, Corolla, Mégane II, Bora, Línea and 307. A good mixture of ingredients for the championship which is about to kick off.

Fiat's comeback to TC2000 coincides with the 90th anniversary of the marque in Argentina. This will take place by means of the works Fiat Pro Racing Team which will be competing with the Línea model. The cars will be driven by Emiliano Spataro and Francisco Viel Bugliotti.

Peugeot will also be making its comeback to the division, after having won the championship in 1995 with its 405 model driven by Juan María Traverso. The 307 will be raced this year, in the hands of former Grand prix driver Esteban tuero.

Honda will defend the title it sealed at the final round of 2008 with José María López, in an event which took place on the streets of Punta del Este. The Japanese marque has claimed three TC2000 titles so far. The first one with Omar Martinez in 1998, at the wheel of the 4-door Honda Civic. A year later, Juan Manuel Silva claimed Honda's second title aboard a similar car.

Renault and Ford are the marques with most TC2000 titles under their belts (8 for each one of them) and will be vying for yet another one. The French manufacturer's Mégane IIs will be in the hands of Matías Rossi and young Néstor Girolami, supervised by team-owner Edgardo Fernández.

Chevrolet is also an important part of the division's history. Its first title came in 2004, with Christian Ledesma aboard a Chevrolet Astra, the year in which the American manufacturer made its comeback to the division. In 2006 and 2007, Matías Rossi claimed the championship for Chevrolet. Guillermo Ortelli will be Ledesma's team-mate this year, with both of them at the wheel of Vectras.

Volkswagen has claimed five titles. Four were won consecutively during the first seasons of TC2000. In 1980, 1981 and 1982, Jorge Omar del Río came home with the title aboard a VW1500. In 1983, Luis Rubén Di Palma made the title his, aboard a self-entered VW1500. Eleven seasons later, Guillermo Maldonado claimed what so far stands at the German manufacturer's most recent TC2000 title, at the wheel of a VW Gol.

Toyota has also won a championship. In 2002, former Grand Prix driver Norberto Fontana drove a Toyota Team Argentina-entered Corolla to title honours.

Thirty years have gone by since the first event, which took place at Buenos Aires. Manufacturers, drivers and teams are all a part of the division's history. In 2009, eight marques and 10 different car models will be competing for honours in the 30th Argentinian TC2000 Championship.

Buenos Aires, February 23rd 2009.- Latin America's Motor Racing Journalists' Association, which is formed by journalists representing more than 50 companies from 12 countries, has elected TC2000 as the best championship of last season. In other categories, Brazil's Felipe Massa was elected as the Latin American Driver of the Year, while Mexico's Esteban Gutierrez won the "Gonzalo Gonchi Rodriguez Prize", for drivers of under 21 years.

With 52 % of the votes on its side, and a total of 188 points, TC2000 established itself as the most appraised division of the continent. Brazil's Stock Car V8 division was the second most voted one, with 107 points, ahead of NASCAR Mexico which was third with 105 points. The Codasur Rally championship was fourth with 95 points, ahead of South American Formula 3 with 70.

The category corresponding to the "Event of the Year" went to the Brazilian Grand Prix once again. Second place went to the Argentina Rally, fourth to the FIA GT event held at Potrero de los Funes (San Luis, Argentina), and ninth to TC2000's "Buenos Aires 200 Km", this latter event once again being considered as one of the most interesting ones.

Two-time TC2000 champion Matías Rossi (Renault Lo Jack Team) spoke to www.tc2000.com.ar about various subjects. He analyzed what had been done during 2008, what he expects from 2009, his rivals, and made his goal for this season quite clear: "Mi only goal is the title".

In 2008, you said that, for yourself, it was the Renault challenge. And in 2009?"It again is the Renault challenge, because in 2008 I wasn't able to reach my goals. I want to consolidate myself in the race lead and to fight for the title."

How do you think the season will fare?"Nicely, things won't change much compared to the past. Just like in the previous ones, it will be difficult and very tough. I like the variety which the TC2000 championship has. The Buenos Aires 200 Km, the street layouts, the night practice sessions, they are all different things which attract the sponsors and the spectators. It is not monotonous.

Renault once again fought for the leading positions. What did it require to win the championship?"We placed Renault again in the leading positions, after what was a long time. The championship was very close-fought. Together with Ortelli, we fought for the title until the very end. Perhaps because we were not able to claim a good amount of points at the two last rounds, we arrived at Punta del Este without any chances."

You have claimed two TC2000 titles. Will you be seeking your third one this year?"Yes I'll be seeking my third one. This year with Renault we have one goal: to become the champions. We have a lot of hopes set on the Megane II, a car on which all the experience gathered in 2008 will deposited."

With who do you think you'll be battling for the title?With José María López, who proved at which level he is during 2008, with Silva, with Ortelli and with Fontana."

Give us your views on Néstor Girolami."He is my new team-mate. I know him from our days in go-karts. When I raced in Seniors he was just beginning. He is very quick, very young and is wanting to learn more. That is what Edgardo Fernández was seeking."

Oberá, May 17th 2009.- Once again, Córdoba's José María López did what he had to do and drove one of the dominating New Civics of the Equipo Petrobras to victory. The team made it another "one-two", this time at the Ciudad de Oberá autodrome, where round 3 of the 2009 TC2000 championship took place. These cars have so far proved to be the fastest and the team has accumulated the largest amount of championship points. Norberto Fontana (Toyota Team Argentina) claimed the final podium placing.It was a matter of seeing how long the Equipo Petrobras outfit's rivals could keep in front before the New Civics reached the lead. This happened on lap four, when Emiliano Spataro (Fiat Pro Racing Team), who had led until then, dived into the pitlane due to a drive through penalty, a legacy of an over-optimistic start of his. This allowed the three Equipo Petrobras cars to head the field, with Leonel Pernía in the lead.

The Honda Team in pursuit for the brave Toyota Corolla of Norberto Fontana (ex Sauber F1 driver).

Pernía had started from seventh on the grid, but the driver from Tandil did not last long in that placing, as his car lost its power steering and spelt the end of his race. His team-mate "Pechito" López inherited the lead, followed by Silva. From then on, these two drivers completely dominated proceedings and raced on towards a "one-two" for their team. Which is how they stand regarding the championship standings, albeit with a larger difference: López's points tally so far is 48, followed by Silva (41) and Fontana, who rose to 3rd place, after having accumulated 30 points.

Guillermo Ortelli (Chevrolet Elaion) was who first fell down the order after starting from pole. He fluffed his start and fell to third, and further on was demoted by other rivals until descending to ninth place. The driver from Salto was able to clamber back up to fourth by the finish. Fabián Yannantuoni (DTA) was the next driver to fall back, as his Chevrolet Astra faltered, and he fell from second place after having overtaken Ortelli metres after the start. "Patito" ended up in ninth place, second in the division corresponding to Privateer Team Drivers.

No mistakes in the powerful Honda Team

With the Hondas leading the field, there was nothing else to do than wait for the checkered flag to come down, as they were miles ahead of their rivals. Third-placed Fontana was by then 29 secs behind López, moments prior to the safety car being deployed on lap 20, after Rubén Salerno (JM Motorsport) spun off the track. Not even this gave Lopez and Silva's pursuers a chance to go for victory once the green flags were waved again, as the two New Civics easily edged away.

Worthy of note was Ortelli's fourth place, the same as the tasks of Gabriel Ponce de León (YPF-Ford), who started from 16th on the grid and ended up in fifth place aboard his Ford Focus, and of Mariano Werner (Toyota Team Argentina), who claimed a hard-fought sixth place after battling it out with Ortelli and Christian Ledesma. Contrasting with these results were those of Matías Rossi (Renault Lo Jack team) and Martín Basso (YPF-Ford). The driver from Del Viso retired for the third time while running in third place, due to oil pump trouble; while the Rafaela driver was an early retirement due to a broken engine.

Bad race and weekend for the Ford factory Team

In what refers to Privateer Team Drivers, Santiago Ventana was the best-placed driver aboard a DTA-entered Chevrolet Astra, ending up in eighth place. Yannantuoni in the meantime was ninth, and Ernesto Bessone (Bainotti Racing) was tenth and third among the privateers.

This round at Oberá made it clear that López feels very much at home on this new, 4,380 metre-long layout, as he has won the three editions of the race which have taken place on it (2007,2008, 2009). It is also very clear that the Equipo Petrobras is the dominating outfit in this division. The city of San Martín will, on May 31st, be the venue for next occasion in which rivals of these dominating, blue-and-white hares, will try to close in on them.

Pernía and Honda lights up and dominates on street layout CLAIMS HIS SECOND TC2000 WIN IN SANTA FE NIGHT RACE

The 3 Honda Civics of Team Petrobras, total domination in Santa Fé saturday nigth live..

Santa Fe, October 3rd 2009.- With the lamps and floodlights shining below a full moon, Leonel Pernía (Team Honda Petrobras) made TC2000 history by claiming the first night race of the division, which took place on Saturday on the “Circuito Callejero Santa Fe Ciudad”, with 50-thousand spectators in attendance. Behind the driver from Tandil came his team-mates, José María López and Juan Manuel Silva.

With an aggressive driving style and fully concentrated, Pernía claimed his second TC2000 victory, after having won for the first time at Córdoba in 2008, although this, his most recent win has a special significance: he won on a street layout and at night, with artificial illumination. Such are the demands of this layout that the race winner later mentioned during the press conference that “the fact is that I only eased up when I saw the checkered flag. I would have preferred that the safety car had not been deployed, as in each restart I had to be very careful with the oil patches on some sectors of the track. One of the complicated moments was when my car got sideways, but fortunately I managed to straighten it out and keep going. To race on a street layout is nice for the spectators to watch, and for us aboard the cars.”

Norberto Fontana (ex Sauber F1) can't follow the Honda's hurricane..

It was a thrilling race all the way, with Pernía dominating proceedings, followed by Silva and López, who in turn was being stalked by Norberto Fontana (Toyota Team Argentina) who was in fourth place and trying to climb up the order. On lap nine, “Pechito” proved there was one place for overtaking, by demoting “Pato” while braking for Turn 1.

“López always has something new to surprise me with, and in this case it was with a fantastic maneouvre. He always has something left. When I realized, he had already overtaken me,” commented Silva. On his part, López considered that “the maneouvre turned out well. Fontana was getting closer to me and I had to move on. I simply opened up and was able to overtake.”

López’s overtaking of Silva had a direct influence on the standings, as in the process López reduced Silva’s lead by 2.5 points, and Silva now leads with 97.5 points to his name, against López’s 93. Who most benefited from the race was the winner, Pernía, who now lies third with 89 points, ahead of Fontana’s 86.Following this turning point which the race had, most looks were directed to what could happen during the two more restarts after the next two deployments of the safety car. But there were no changes in the positions and Pernía motored on towards his undoubtedly sweetest victory.Behind the leading quartet came Gabriel Ponce de León (Ford-YPF), Fabián Yannantuoni (DTA), who came home first among the privateers; Guillermo Ortelli (Chevrolet Elaion) and Santiago Ventana (DTA).

Race Two takes place on Sunday midday, with Pernía and López exchanging places on the grid, with López ahead this time, followed by Pernía and Silva. Natural daylight will on this occasion hand out the verdict on the streets of Santa Fe.

May I ask what costs of a TC2000 compared to S2000? Are these cars much more expensive?

With 200.000 Euros, a driver can make one full season in a good team.,The official work's team drivers has a wage of 24.000 Dollars (USA) per month., more or less, and the airplane tickets.Pechito López (and other 7 drivers) receive a annual payment of 290.000 Dollars (USA) per year., IS NOT JOKE.

Now, the TC 2000 series himself provide the Engines to the Teams., the engine is the Berta 2.3 litres DOHC 16 valves with 310 HP to 7800 Rpm., Oreste Berta is our local hero.

I'm probably going to get shot down for this, but I could see a Grand Prix being run there. Some modifications would be needed - pits, grandstands - and I can't imagine the Powers That Be would be too thrilled about the section under the bridge, but it could be done. The circuit could also do with an extension, and if they simply continued the shape down from that first corner with a few pitches and undulations, it wouldn't be bad (but I'm not sure if the local geography could make that possible).

Now, I wouldn't have said this a week ago. But a week ago, I hadn't heard of what they've done for Abu Dhabi. The biggest issue would be that the circuit would normally have acres of tarmac run-off, but at Abu Dhabi they're got those new Techpro barriers that absorb more energy in the event of an accident. And I think those barriers could usher in a new era for circuit design because we can have less run-off area. And as Abu Dhabi has proved, you can paint your tarmac, so it could be made to look as if there was no tarmac at all.

Honda driver blows stronger than the El Zonda wind at San JuanLópez wins Round 11 and is now very close to title

San Juan, October 25th 2009.- It was clear that the weekend at San Juan would be very important in what refers to the championship’s definition, and it was for José María López (Equipo Petribras), who by winning Sunday’s race claimed the maximum amount of points possible during the weekend –he set both poles and also won Saturday’s race- and in the process managed to eke out a 30-point advantage over his nearest pursuer when there now are only 33 points at stake with one round remaining. The podium was completed by Matías Rossi (Renault Lo Jack Team) and Norberto Fontana (Toyota Team Argentina), who finished second and third respectively.

López dominated from lights-to-flag following a very good getoff and then setting a good rythm, fast and constant, which allowed him to claim his fourth win of the season and his 11th TC2000 victory, leaving him very close to the title. Only his team-mate can wrest it from him.

“Pechito” has so far accumulated 157 points, followed by Silva’s 127; while already out of the title hunt are third-placed Leonel Pernía (Equipo Petrobras) (124 points); Norberto Fontana, fourth (112) and Matías Rossi, fifth (106).“The goal was to leave here with a five- or a seven-point lead, and now I’m leaving with a 30 points advantage, something I had not imagined. I’m in an unsurpassable position because I only need a few points more, I’ve got to make it, the idea is to not give up. Anyway, all races have to finish on the track,” said López with reference to his great possibilities to claim another title.

López did all that was expected of him, without forgetting all his team’s effort: “The basis of all this is the Equipo Petrobras, that presented three cars always ahead of the rest and that today gave me a fantastic car.” Commenting on the race itself he added: “on Tuesday (Testing at Córdoba, Ed.) I felt much at home and came to San Juan full of confidence. The car was quick from the onset and it can be said that the races were easier than the qualifying sessions. The start was the toughest moment; I drove as hard as I could towards the first corner. When I saw Matías advancing and getting past Fontana very quickly I had to get a move on.”

Sadly, San Juan was another nasty race for the 3 Fords of Official works team..,

On his part, Rossi, lost his place to Fontana at the start and then had to work hard to regain second place (including a clash with Silva on lap 1) on lap 6, when he got ahead of Fontana: “To lose pole by so little changed a lot of things racewise, because if I’d started from the front, it would have been different race. Again I did a slow start and lost time from the onset. Later on I was able to maneouvre past Fontana, who respected my position at all times, so as to be able to level up with him at the slight chicane and then reach the esses alright. I then tried to go in pursuit of López, but I couldn’t do much.”

Fontana was not able to attain his goal of finishing ahead of López, after not being able to get past him at the start, which was his only chance of reaching the lead.

“Pechito made no mistakes and had a great car; we couldn’t have done any better. We had no margin. At Corner 1 I tried but wasn’t able to and that was the only chance; Matías passed me later on and made a good pass, and I kept the pace up but wasn’t able to get closer because the cars were very even during all the laps. We did all we could.”

Silva had to forsake some championship points at the start when he was battling with Rossi and in the descent towards the esses he was rammed by Néstor Girolami’s car (Renault Lo Jack Team), who in turn had no room left as he was beside Mariano Werner (Toyota Team Argentina). At that point Silva fell to seventh place and at that stage was out of contention for the title. Later on he was able to recover up to fifth spot, behind team-mate Pernía.

The FIAT`s victory dream was very short., the car need more development and reliability.

San Juan ended up being a key weekend, leaving López on the verge of two consecutive titles and leaving all his championship rivals out of reach except for Silva, who will have to win at Potrero de los Funes and hope that “Pechito” does not claim more than three points.

The round at San Luis will form part of the “Endurance Series”, so there will be driver pairings handling the cars and part of the responsibilities will lie on Scottish driver Anthony Reid’s shoulders, as López’s co-driver, and on “Cacá” Bueno’s, in Silva’s case. Making use of that well-known frase in the motor racing world, the races end when the checkered flag comes down...

Rarely, in San Juan the Toyotas don`t run in good shape, the Corolla usually is very strong there

About Chevrolet, what I can Said???.. The two cars was DNF in the same Lap..

From Touring Car Times (UK)Pechito Lopez to test with Honda after F1 dream collapse

Jose Maria Lopez, whose F1 dream fell apart with the collapse of the USF1 team, will test for the Equipe Petrobras Honda team with which he won two titles.

The team have already confirmed a four car line-up for the season, already a heavy expansion on their three car line-up fielded for Lopez, Leonel Pernía and Renault bound Juan Manuel Silva last season, but a fifth car remains a possibility.Lopez will join the team's four drivers at the test tomorrow (12th March 2010), with a view to rejoining the championship this year, after originally signing with the ill-fated USF1 team, whom have formally withdrawn their entry into the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

Jose Maria Lopez then looked to moving to the also troubled HRT F1 team, albeit they are looking set to take to the grid despite no testing at all. The team however have signed Karun Chandhok as their second driver, though it hasn't been ruled out that Lopez may take up a test and reserve role with the team.

It's also believed Lopez has been offered a seat in the WTCC, which resumes in early May in Morocco.

The test with the Equipe Petrobras team is scheduled to take place at the Autodromo Oscar Cabalén in Cordoba, where Chevrolet & Toyota have already been testing today, with Christian Ledesma setting the fastest time in the Vectra.

Touring Car Times (UK)Peugeot confirm two car works effort with Di Palma and Alvarez

Peugeot will return to the TC2000 championship this year with the Peugeot 307 as an official works entry, with the car driven by former DP1 Ford driver Josito Di Palma & former GP2 racer Juan Cruz Alvarez.Peugeot will have five cars on the grid in total, with three being run by the satellite team Vital Racing, with drivers Fabián Yannantuoni, Matías Muñoz Marchesi and Franco Coscia.

Peugeot have a strong history in the championship, with the first series back in 1979 being won by Osvaldo 'Cocho' López in a Peugeot 504, and with Peugeot last taking the title in 1995 with the 405."I always worked hard to be in an official team and today thanks to Peugeot Team Cobra I am." said José Di Palma"I worked for three years alongside an official team and now is the time to capitalize on that experience."

New team mate Juan Cruz Alvarez, (WSL Champion 2003) who has driven in various national championships since racing for Campos in GP2 in 2005 said:"While I have much experience in racing, only yesterday I first came into contact with a TC2000...to represent an official team is very important. I hope I can help with the development of the car."